The displaced, the ignored
B. S. Thaur

Industrial Development and Displacement: The People of Korba
by Vasudha Dhagamwar, Subrata De and Nikhil Verma. Sage Publications, New Delhi. Pages 383. Rs 590.

THE displacement of human habitations caused with the construction of big dams and reservoirs is quite known and a lot of written material in the shape of reports of committees concerned and awards of commissions is available. However, the displacement caused by the development of industrial and urban estates and the resultant impact on the people and the land has attracted scant attention of social scientists and researchers et al.

Maybe, the history of industrial development in the country is not very old. In this context, the book in hand is unique. It brings out in detail the account of the impact of disturbance and displacement caused to the inhabitants and the area where the industries are installed and the related development takes place. It is a case study of the Korba area, now a district town of Chhatisgarh, formerly a part of Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh.

The study is in depth and every aspect (environmental, socio-economic, psychological, ecological, demographic and educational) has been covered. Certain questions raised for comparing the non-dam related displacement with dam-centric displacement, in a paragraph in the introduction, makes the text sufficiently clear. The questions are: Who are non-dam displacing agencies? Do they cluster together? Do they acquire land at the same time? Averagely, how much land do they acquire?

Does a village or a cluster of villages know in advance as to who will acquire it and when? How is the acquired land used and where and how do the displaced people live? How do they fit in the new economy? Who gets the jobs, if outsiders move in? All these and many other questions focussed on industrially affected areas have been discussed on the basis of facts and figures collected from the Korba area, which from a sleepy and backward belt has come up an industrially rich and developed one.

The book with its sketches and graphs portrays a picture of rigmarole of development-oriented displacement on the basis of information straight from the horse’s mouth. The labour and quality of the work produced could have well earned a doctorate to the trio whose joint venture the book is. The presentation makes the book a must-read for the planners and administrators tasked with development projects in public and private sectors. The foreword, a philosophical and anatomical treat on development and displacement, by Dr Upendra Buxi, adds to the intrinsic value of the book.

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